03/24/2017By Tildy BayarFeatures EditorIran’s installed renewable power capacity is set to reach 700-850 MW within the country’s calendar year (which began on 21 March), the energy ministry announced this week.The increase would more than double Iran’s current installed renewable capacity, which deputy energy minister Seyed Mohammad Sadeqzadeh put last month at around 340 MW. According to the Mehr news agency, Sadeqzadeh said this week that the bulk of the expected capacity would come from wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) farms, which are set to provide 90 per cent of the total amount to be installed.The new plants will be between 10 MW and 30 MW and will be built across the country, Sadeqzadeh said. Five waste-to-power plants are also under construction, for a total capacity of 9 MW.Iran aims to grow its renewable capacity to 7.5 GW by 2030, with 5 GW targeted under its sixth five-year development plan.Foreign firms from, among others, China, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, Turkey and South Korea are playing significant roles in the sector since Western sanctions were lifted in January 2016.Together, the projects proposed by foreign investors total around $3bn. --- ---...